2011 Volleyball

Beavers sweep Earlham and Mount Union

Bluffton improves to 3-1 in HCAC with sweep of Earlham

BLUFFTON, Ohio - For the first match of the afternoon on Saturday, Oct. 8, the Beavers
took on the Heartland Conference foe Earlham College in Founders Hall. Taking a 3-0
sweep over the Quakers (25-11, 25-20, 25-20), all 21 Beavers in uniform were able
to see action in the match.

Setting up the offense was sophomore Kyleigh Whitsel (Sheffield Lake/Brookside) with
33 assists. Defensively, junior libero Heather Schierer (Crescent Springs, Ky./St.
Henry) picked up 11 digs, while Whitsel finished with 10. Hailey Phillips and Nicole
Wood chipped in with six and four digs, respectively. At the net, both Behnfeldt and
Zimmerman stuffed two balls for block assists.

The second match of the weekend was a battle of purple, when the Beavers faced the
Raiders of Mount Union. The home team came out strong in set one and was unstoppable
the rest of the match, leading in every statistical category. The Beavers capped their
second 3-0 sweep (25-22, 25-22, 25-23) of the afternoon, dispatching yet another Ohio
Athletic Conference squad.

The trio of seniors led the team offensively with 12 kills for Wood and 10 kills apiece
for Eshleman and Zimmerman. Behnfeldt added five kills to the Beaver attack. Whitsel distributed
helpers to the tune of 40 assists.

The Beaver defense was on tonight with three players putting up double-digit numbers
for digs. Schierer had a whopping 22 digs, while sophomores Lindsay Krohn (Marysville,
Ind./New Washington) and Whitsel added 12 and 10 digs, respectively. At the net, Zimmerman dominated
with four blocks. Distal tallied two blocks and Behnfeldt one for the victors.

Bluffton rifled six aces in the match with Philips (two) leading the way. Whitsel,
Eshleman, Zimmerman and Freshman Melissa Wichie (Brunswick) all air-mailed one ace
each.

The Beavers are now 14-8 (3-1 HCAC). The next match for Bluffton is Tuesday, Oct.
11, against the Battling Bishops on the campus of Ohio Wesleyan University.